Bso Answers Lauderdale Lakes Criticism

May 13, 1986|By Tom Lassiter, Staff Writer

LAUDERDALE LAKES -- A City Council critic of the service provided by the Broward Sheriff`s Office left a meeting Monday of city and Sheriff`s Office officials satisfied the concerns are being addressed.

``Yes, they have been, but if (the problems) continue I`d certainly recommend we go back to our own police department,`` said council member Lou Tenner, who chairs the Public Safety Committee of the council.

The city disbanded its police department in 1977 and contracted with the Sheriff`s Office for police protection.

Tenner believed the Sheriff`s Office had not met all the provisions of that contract. He listed several points of concern at the outset of the meeting Monday between committee members, Broward Sheriff Nick Navarro and several top BSO officials.

Specifically, the Sheriff`s Office had not maintained 29 deputies in the city as promised under the contract, Tenner said. And the council has not always had the opportunity to review Sheriff`s Office decisions on the assignment of deputies to the city, Tenner said.

The latter is important because the council considers it key that deputies assigned to Lauderdale Lakes be familiar with the city, said council member Morris Klein. Klein opened his comments by saying relations between the city and the Sheriff`s Office have never been better than they have since Navarro took office in January 1985.

When a Sheriff`s Office official noted that a new deputy had just been assigned to the city, bringing the number assigned here to 29, Tenner said the news supported the complaint that the council is not always informed of personnel changes.

Navarro said he understood the concern. But like other agencies, the Sheriff`s Office can`t always anticipate promotions, dismissals, injuries and other factors that can affect staffing, he said.

Navarro also said the city can`t expect vacancies in the ranks of deputies assigned to the city to be filled overnight when the council asks that only deputies familiar with the city be assigned here.

Another concern raised was the use of members of the Saturation Neighborhood Anti-crime Patrols (SNAP) by the organized crime unit of the Sheriff`s Office.

SNAP is supposed to work exclusively on crimes in Lauderdale Lakes, making particularly troublesome areas the target of their efforts. Several committee members were concerned that SNAP members were being used to assist the organized crime unit in other areas of the county.

Major Al Kline, commander of the Sheriff`s Office district that includes Lauderale Lakes, said that is not happening. However, SNAP members at times work outside the city in the course of investigating crimes that occurred in Lauderdale Lakes, he said.

To a second concern related to SNAP, Kline said, he had discarded the system of day-by-day reports on SNAP activities and started a new reporting system. Monday`s meeting was the first time he became aware there was dissatisfaction among committee members with the new reporting system, Kline said. ``If you don`t like it, we can talk about,`` he said.

The final concern discussed Monday is the length of time deputies must wait with their prisoners at the Lauderdale Lakes substation before transportation to the County Jail is available.

Col. Ed Werder, Navarro`s chief of staff, said a north Broward satellite holding facility is in the works. The facility will reduce the time a deputy must guard a prisoner awaiting transportation to the jail, he said.